Abbreviations
Abbreviations often cause students problems because abbreviations are often language specific and they may not follow any clear patterns. In this handout, we will look at some of the abbreviations that often give ESL students difficulty. Abbreviations are sometimes followed by a period, and in other cases are not followed by a period. To make it even more confusing, some abbreviations will have two or even three periods associated with them.
Titles before names: Most titles are followed by a period, indicating that they are abbreviations.
| Mrs. for a married woman |
| Mr. For a man |
| Ms. For a woman |
| Prof. For professor |
| Dr. for doctor |
| Gen. for general |
| Sen. For senator |
| St. for Saint. |
| Miss, indicating an unmarried woman, is not an abbreviation, so it is not followed by a period. |
| Ms., which indicates a woman with out reference to her marital status, is not an abbreviation, but it should be followed by a period. (This is done to keep it consistent with Mr. And Mrs.) |
| Rev. for reverend. Technically, Rev. is not a title, but an adjective. However, it is often used as a title. As a result, we can say “We invited the Rev. John Dunn" or "We invited the Rev. Mr. Dunn”. However, we do not say “We invited the reverend to dinner because as an adjective, Rev. or reverend requires a proper noun to modify. |
Titles after names: Most titles are followed by a period or a combination of periods, indicating that they are abbreviations. Here are some common examples:
| Sr. for senior |
| Jr. for junior |
| Ph.D. for doctor of philosophy |
| M.D. for medical doctor |
| B.A. for bachelor of arts |
| M.A. for master of arts |
| Do not use titles before and after a name at the same time. You can say Dr. Vincent Salas or you can say Vincent Salas, Ph.D., but do not say Dr. Vincent Salas. |
| Do not abbreviate a title that isn't attached to a name: "We will go to see the doctor (not dr.) tomorrow." |
| familiar institutions — UP, MIT, UCLA, CIA, FBI, NATO |
| countries and places— U.S.A., U.K., CDO |
| corporations — IBM, CBS, NPR, CNN, ITT |
| famous people — FVR, GMA, JFK, |
| very familiar objects — TV, VCR, CD-ROM. |
Notice that United States of America can be written as U.S.A. or as USA or as U.S. We would use U.S.A. and USA as an abbreviation of the proper noun, and we would use U.S. as an adjective which modifies something else (the U.S. policy on immigration).
Terms of mathematical units:
| 15 in. for inch or inches |
| 15 ft for foot or feet |
| 15 kg For kilogram or kilograms |
| 15 m for meter or meters |
| 15 lb For pound pr pounds |
| Notice that mathematical abbreviations do not use a period following the abbreviation except in the case if inch (in.). This is so the abbreviation is not confused with the word in. |
| Notice that these abbreviations are the same for both the plural and the singular |
| Notice that when the abbreviation is used as an adjective or modifier, we put a hyphen between the number and the term of measurement. (a 30-ft boat, an 300-lb man, a 12-in. fish) |
Common Phrases as Abbreviations Common phrases are often abbreviated, usually without periods. However, capitalization is an individual issue. Some examples are:
| IQ for Intelligence Quotient |
| rpm for revolutions per minute |
| mph for miles per hour |
| mpg (miles per gallon). |
Words used to give meaning to numbers: He left at 2:00 a.m. She was born in 1520 B.C.
| A.M. or a.m. for “ante meridian”, or “in the morning |
| P.M. or p.m. for “post meridian”, or after “noon” |
| B.C. for before Christ |
| A.D. for “anno domini”, Latin for “in the year of our Lord” |
Common Latin terms with specific meanings in English
| etc. for et cetera, or “and so forth” |
| i.e. for id est, or “that is” (Introduces an explanation) |
| e.g. for exempli gratia, or “for example” (an example or list of examples) |
| et al. for et alii, or “and others” (for formally citing material you've used in research) |
| vs. for versus for reporting game scores or describing opponents |
| v. for Versus for citing legal documents |
Never abbreviate the following:
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Common words like because (cuz), through (thru), night (nite), you (u) |
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Days of the week or months of the year, when used in a full sentence |
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The first word of a sentence |
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Proper names of people like Rob (Robert), Jas (James) unless they are accepted nicknames the person uses on a regular basis |
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The names of states or provinces, when used in a full sentence. The rule is to use state and provincial abbreviations for addresses only. |
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Courses or disciplines econ for economics, phil for philosophy, poli sci for political science |